The MTS Centre in Winnipeg is too small (15,003) plus and almost as importantly, there are not enough luxury boxes there to support current NHL economics, especially with the salary cap expected to continue to inch upwards (even with revenue sharing). Plus, the city will not have the corporate support for the boxes, advertising etc....
It just seems to me that when the MTS Centre was built, Winnipeg (probably reluctantly) turned it's back on it's NHL past, since it was clearly made for IHL/AHL proportions.
I think that the NHL needs a team in the US North West (ie, Seattle or Portland). However, Seattle does not a rink ready (previous Sonics owner specifically made the Key Arena hockey-unfriendly to try and discourage an NHL team from competiting with his NBA team), and Portland might not be able to support 2 major league teams running at the same time.
Aside from the arena issue (the current Sonic's owner is looking for city funding for a new arena that would be hockey-friendly, but that would be 2 years away at least), I would personally love for Seattle to get a team and form a natural rivalry with Vancouver.